A badly rusted mine was found at Karamea.2008.

About this image

DescriptionDecember 2008
A badly rusted mine was found at Karamea.This is supposed to being part of a controlled minefield laid in the First World War to protect Westport. In 1914-1918 Westport was the main port where coal was loaded for warships serving with the Royal Navy.

Westport coal was thought to be superior to Australian coal which was found seriously defective for steaming purposes by 1914. For example, a test done in the battlecruiser HMAS Australia showed to keep the screws turning at 186 revolutions per minute, 16 tons of NSW was required, 12 tonnes of Westport coat or 10 tons of Welsh coal. With the outbreak of the First World War, Welsh coal would be unobtainable and all the coal the RAN had on hand in August 1914 was 1,800 tonnes of Westport coal, about a single large ship’s coaling allocation. This mine was laid by the Defence Department’s sub-mining steamer the Jamie Seddon. This mine broke off its mooring drifted out of the mouth of the Buller River, then drift northward to Karamea with the prevailing current. This is supposition based probability.
Courtesy of the NZ Navy MuseumDate of Photo2008Map^[1]External LinkNavy Museum

Shown in this image

Location (city or town)KarameaEventA badly rusted mine was found at Karamea.2008.

From Facebook

Date Created28th March 2022CommentsWayne Nicholson
I wonder if the steamer "Jamie" Seddon is the same Janie Seddon wreck at Motueka ?
Reply1d

Looks definately German to me. The overall shape and design of the mine and the Hertz Horns have only 2 rings on them. British had 3.
All major NZ ports were mines by Germany during WW2 by submarine.
They are still there by the way, lol. But rusted through and explosives dissolved. Even divers wouldn't recognise them now.

OCR Text Transcription Edit Edit +-Close

Editing is temporarily disabled

Cancel Edit

Start typing here to find a location	Latitude	Longitude	Zoom	Actions

loading google map....

Save Cancel

Menu

A badly rusted mine was found at Karamea.2008.

Editing is temporarily disabled